


Notice of Complaint

by happymango



Category: Shingeki no Kyojin | Attack on Titan
Genre: Fluff, M/M, eruri - Freeform, well an attempt at fluff
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2014-03-05
Updated: 2014-07-18
Packaged: 2018-01-14 15:13:58
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 3
Words: 5,428
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/1271146
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/happymango/pseuds/happymango
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Erwin means for Levi's file to eventually fill with promotions, mission tallies, and maybe a few commendations for bravery if some of the Sina nobles ever get over their little grudges. Instead, there are hordes of official complaints and the occasional lawsuit. He's not sure what it says about him that he finds himself liking Levi a little bit more after each instance.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Chapter 1

Erwin doesn’t get many formal complaints. There's the occasional request for a restraining order against Mike whenever he sniffs a particularly jumpy recruit, but that's it. Most of the time, disputes were settled on the training grounds. He didn’t particularly approve of it, but no one had ever come out of a fight with anything worse than a split lip or some bruises, and anyway he wasn’t about to create more paperwork for himself by making them go the official route. So it's with some surprise and a fair bit of annoyance that he notices a stack of folders as thick as his finger on his desk one morning, all of them stamped with “Formal Notice of Complaint.” Reigning in the urge to sigh, he takes the first one and skims, pausing once it gets past the bombastic military titles and finally states:

_Formal Complaint against ~~Livai Livi~~ Levi Lastnameunknown_

Well. It wasn’t like he hasn’t been expecting this. His newest recruit doesn’t exactly embody respect for authority, and while the circumstances of his enlistment aren’t officially known, the rumors floating around are unnervingly close. Erwin reads the document carefully, already calculating which members of the MP owe him a favor, when his eyes catch on one line.

_Excessive use of force during sparring._

Ah, so that was it? He’d been expecting something along the lines of a stabbing, or a full-blown brawl in the barracks. That Levi is restricting his fights to training sessions is extremely promising, actually. If the other recruits can’t handle it, well, that’s why they need the training in the first place. Flipping through the rest of the papers, he finds that they're all variations on the same theme. All in all, twenty-two recruits want Levi suspended for excessive use of force. That simply won’t do. He knows the Military Police will literally jump at the opportunity, and it was only the rumor mill that had prompted the petitioners to deliver these to him instead of the MP, believing that he was the only person Levi would listen to. It was time to test that theory.

* * *

 

That afternoon, he stops by the training grounds during hand-to-hand combat drills, and doesn’t miss the looks of relief on the majority of enlistee’s faces. Levi is brushing non-existent dust from his pants while his opponent circles him nervously, eyes darting to Erwin as if pleading for a way out.

“Tch.” Levi has spotted him too. Without another word, he launches himself at the trainee and delivers a roundhouse kick to his stomach, followed by a quick twist to his arm that leaves him sprawled in the dust, coughing up tiny spurts of blood. Erwin blinks. That arm is most definitely dislocated.

“Levi, a word.”

“I’m training, like you told me to.” Flat grey eyes look up at him.

“I can see that.”

Levi follows nonetheless. The crowd parts for them, a few white-faced soldiers rushing to the fallen man’s side. They walk in silence back to Erwin’s office, Levi’s face becoming steadily more and more blank, as if bracing for an interrogation.

“Levi, it’s come to my attention that your sparring technique is highly advanced. Too advanced, actually, for your peers.”

Always start with a compliment, he knew, then move onto criticism, and finish with another compliment.

“So what the fuck dyou want me to do about it? I’m babying those fuckers as it is.”

“What I just saw was brutal.”

“He’s alive and good enough to drag his ass to training tomorrow.”

Pointedly not sighing, Erwin studies Levi for a few seconds, the shorter man staring straight ahead but not meeting his eyes. He’s considered several lectures; about how not everyone grew up fighting, about how building camaraderie was important, about how the MP was just looking for an excuse to toss him back in jail or under a guillotine, but knows now that none of them would have any effect.

“Starting tomorrow, you train with the rest of the Legion.”

“What?” Predictably, Levi’s eyes do not widen in surprise, but narrow with suspicion.

“The trainees are terrified of you. And you’re clearly not being challenged. Since you’re joining the Scouting Legion anyway, it makes sense for you to get to know your future comrades.”

“I…guess that’s okay.” Levi’s absence of a scowl is as good as a smile in his book.

“You’re welcome.”

* * *

 

Levi is just as merciless against his new opponents, but these are battle-hardened soldiers, and they take it in stride, even asking him to teach them a few techniques. Erwin has the satisfaction of seeing the first instance of this, when Mara straightens her broken nose like it’s nothing and eagerly demands to be shown a certain kick again. The pale pink that dusts Levi’s cheeks is worth the backlog of formal complaints from the MP about letting Levi “skip a grade.”


	2. Chapter 2

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Potential donors are coming, and Erwin frankly has no time to deal with whatever Levi's done now.

It’s a year into Levi’s training, and a few weeks into the start of his sparring sessions with the Scouting Legion, when Erwin again sees the dreaded complaint forms on his desk.

_Unnecessary and violent bouts of cleaning._

_Disrespect for command structure when he refused Squad Leader Dmitri and I entrance over the state of our boots._

_Unauthorized requisitioning of bleach._

_Kitchen workers permanently traumatized. Dishwashers threatening to quit._

_Made Barrack C change their sheets at knifepoint. He doesn’t even go here._

_Cleaning has cranked up to eleven, Sir._

He feels laughter bubble up in his belly, but quells it immediately. There’s no time for this. They need to present a unified front for some potential donors from the lower nobility coming to tour the compound today. He makes a note to talk to Levi later, and turns to planning this month’s budget, knowing he’ll have to make some cuts if today’s visit doesn’t prove fruitful.

* * *

 

Erwin remembers Lady Dupont from his childhood. Her figure and thick black curls had attracted several suitors back then, and she’d been chastised for “marrying down”. Now, looking at her plump face creased with laughter lines, Erwin finds her as charming as he had twenty years ago. Her husband is similarly rotund, with a small shiny bald patch at the top of his head, like a coin. Both greet him warmly, eyes darting curiously between his uniform and their surroundings.

"Let's get started, shall we?"

He gives them a brief tour, noting with some amazement that every soldier they meet is immaculately dressed and salutes them smartly before moving on. Don’s hair is brushed for once, and there are no beer stains down his front. Marielle’s swearing on the training grounds with the recruits is mercifully kept to a minimum. The rec room is full of soldiers darning their jackets, heads studiously bowed. He’s impressed, and apparently, so is the couple.

“So disciplined. Anyone who says you’re a waste of resources clearly hasn’t been here to see for themselves,” Mr. Dupont gushes, while his wife nods happily. The _waste of resources_ comment is grating, but he tactfully ignores it and focuses on keeping the smile on his face relatively warm-looking.

“You have our support, Erwin. And do try to pay us a visit for Sunday lunch sometime soon, won’t you?” she continues. He nods politely, shakes their hands, and sees them out of the compound.

As he’s walking back down the hall, Levi drops down silently from the ceiling and begins to walk beside him. Erwin raises an eyebrow and hopes his heartbeat isn’t audible because _holyfuckingshit_.

“I can’t believe they didn’t even look at the second courtyard. Probably a good thing though, those newbies did a shit job.”

“You…knew the Duponts were coming?” Suddenly his weird morning starts to make sense.

“You had notes freaking out about it all over your desk.”

“You looked through my notes? When were you in my office?”

“Did you just think that shit dusted itself?”

Erwin is quiet as he contemplates the gleaming floorboards, the spotless uniforms, the soldiers a few rooms away all terrified into being productive instead of playing drinking games. Levi did this for him, simply because he knew he was worried about the tour. A curious warmth wraps around his heart, and he smiles. He doesn’t say thank you, but his hand settles into the other’s shoulder and gives it a squeeze. Levi stills for a moment, then shrugs him off and leaves.

The first thing Erwin does once back in his office is to throw the entire stack of complaints into the trash.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Bonus points if you got the references.


	3. Chapter 3

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> In which Erwin's not sure who's charming who.

Erwin does take up the Duponts’ invite for Sunday lunch, as promised. He is unsurprised to find that several merchants and nobles “drop by” and are invited to join them. He was counting on it, to be honest. They ask about the Legion, stopping short of actually pledging their support, but he can tell he’s made an impression. And on Monday morning, he’s proven right when a letter with Lady McManough’s seal arrives.

“Lavender and vanilla. How relaxing,” Mike says as he opens it with a flourish. His eyebrows climb higher as he reads it. “Well, aren’t you special. Says dinner was delightful…bit of a rant about how much you’ve grown…you show potential…and she wants to give us a charity ball.”

“That’s promising.”

“She’s picked a date already. Here’s your ticket, and you’re allowed a plus one.” Mike waggles his eyebrows, but then his face falls into a stern expression. “This is the first time a Legion Commander’s been invited to a private party, not to mention it’s the first they’ve ever thrown specifically for us. _Ever_. You have to be careful, Erwin. There’s a saying: the same crowd that applauds your coronation—”

“Applauds your hanging.”

“People like a show,” Mike finishes. “So bring a good show pony, eh?”

* * *

 

He finds Levi that evening at dinner and tells him that they’ll be attending a ball the weekend after next. The other man shrugs noncommittally, accepting it as just another order, so Erwin leaves and misses the mess hall exploding into whispers.

Levi only has to glare for the crowd to shut up, since they’re his fellow trainees and not Legion members, and several of them still have bruised ribs from their spars. Still, a few whispers spread, and Mike has always been good at sniffing out information. He marches into Erwin’s office first thing next morning and stares at him with an exaggeratedly mournful face. Hanji is behind him, face red with laughter.

“See, no. When I was giving you that advice, I was thinking of someone with, yknow, breasts. And a smile.”

“People like a show, Mike.”

“Erwin, you’re a good man, and you’re a genius, but sometimes you’re so stupid I can feel my brain hurl itself against my skull in a suicide attempt. That kid was fished out of the gutter barely a year ago. He probably sleeps with a knife under his pillow, and you want to stick him with the upper crust?”

“Hm.” Maybe he hadn’t thought this out after all.

“Oh shit. There’ll be three forks on the table.” Hanji chooses this moment to chime in.

“Hanji—”

“And people touching him. You remember that time I tried to ruffle his hair.”

“Hanji—”

“And _dancing_.”

That gives Erwin pause.

“Okay, so maybe it’s a bit too soon. But I’ve already asked him, and besides, the nobility’s going to have to get used to seeing him if he ends up climbing the ranks as fast as I think he will—”

“You…uh, asked him? To the ball?” Suddenly she’s making goopy eyes.

“Told. I informed him.”

“Noooooooope,” she sings, twirling the word around. “You _asked_ him. Ah, Erwin! I knew those rumors about you having traded your sex drive for height weren’t true!”

“Enough,” Erwin has fought blushes down in the past, and he’s not about to lose now. “He’s just starting to trust me, Hanji. To imply that our relationship is anything but professional—”

“Okaygeezcalmdown,” she breathes out, stretching her arms out above her head. “Look, if you’re set on this, and of course you are, because you’re you, I recommend that you find someone to teach him the basics. Wine talk, table manners—”

“ _Anger management_ ,” Mike supplies.

Erwin briefly considers ordering one or even both of them to do it, but he’s never been one for such petty abuses of power, and besides, Hanji would probably enjoy it.

“Your concerns are noted. I’ll find Levi a tutor. Squad Leader Arthur—”

“On leave for a funeral.”

“Samuel Goetz?”

“Is a gossip and trust me, you don’t want this getting around. More than it already has,” she informs him.

“Yvonne Martinez?”

“Out with a broken leg.”

“Amir Spencer?”

“He probably won’t wanna.”

“ _How_ is that a valid excuse?”

“Oh come ooooooon,” she practically leaps onto his desk, manic grin in place. “What I’m saying is that you should do it, you big dummy!”

“Me? I’m busy, in case you haven’t noticed.”

“Not too busy,” Mike shrugs. “The next expedition’s on hold until our squad leaders are medically cleared again, and you mentioned we’d received a huge donation recently so I don’t think budget issues are big right now.”

“I’m still busy.” But it’s halfhearted now, and his friends know him well enough to pick up on it. He can’t deny he’s curious to see how Levi will take to small talk and waltzing. Besides, he thinks, it’s not as if he can’t teach Levi the basics in a few days. For all his prickliness, he’s a quick learner when he wants to be.

“Great. So I’ll tell the little guy to report here at 20:00 hours.” Hanji has the gall to pat his head before she scampers off, leaving Mike to fall onto the sofa and start telling him about his latest mistress.

* * *

 

Levi arrives three minutes late. It’s enough time for Erwin to start worrying that he won’t show up at all, and he’s considering pacing when a sharp knock sounds and Levi walks in, fists clenched as if in preparation for a fight.

“What’s this Four-Eyes was saying about remedial lessons? I’ve destroyed those shitstains you call soldiers out there.”

“I….probably shouldn’t have let her be the messenger in this case. This isn’t about your training. What she meant was that you’ve got a few things to learn about upper-class etiquette, since you’ve never seen a noble’s ball—”

“Course I have,” he grunts. “Used to sneak in as part of the kitchen staff to map out a place before we pulled a job.”

His unabashed confession leaves Erwin gaping for a moment, but he recovers quickly.

“What, you think we just burst in and grabbed anything shiny? Heists take research, just like your expeditions do.”

“So you know the dining rules?”

“Too many forks, but yeah. It's not hard, you work your way inward.”

“Proper greetings?”

“If you’re not brown-nosing you’re not doing it right.”

“ _Levi_.”

“Yeah, yeah, _Mister Smith_.”

Erwin will deny the swooping sensation in his gut until the day he dies.

“What about dancing?”

“It's just fucking spinning in slow motion, yeah?”

“It’s a bit more complicated than that,” he sits down and motions for Levi to do the same, which he doesn't.

“There will be various kinds, quadrilles and whatnot, but the only one you’ll be expected to participate in is the opening waltz. I’d like to show you the steps, if that's okay with you.” He stands and holds out a hand politely. He’s gotten to know Levi, and noticed that the man tends to fight orders almost on principle, but if his opinion is asked, he’s always hesitant to say no. Whether it’s out of surprise or politeness, Erwin doesn’t know, but he doesn’t have to understand it to take advantage of it. Just as he’d hoped, Levi gives a minute nod.

* * *

 

_Ten seconds later:_

“This is ri-goddamn-diculous.”

Erwin has a hand on Levi’s waist, feeling the tense muscles as the other man tries once more to get a hand on his shoulder. He reaches, but just barely, and it affects his posture. Clearly, practical lessons won’t be possible. Erwin thinks he feels a twinge of disappointment, but doesn’t dwell on it. Instead, he sketches a quick chart of the steps for Levi, and then gives a solo demonstration.

“Now you.”

Muttering under his breath, Levi repeats the sequence back at him, his shoulders tense and the back of his neck slightly red, but his steps are confident and smooth. Erwin had honestly expected nothing less.

“Wipe that creepy look off your face before my boot does it for you.”

Erwin hadn’t realized he’d been smiling.

“I think that’s all then, you seem to have it down. Mike’s already sent your measurements to a tailor; there will be a final fitting at the end of the week, and after that you should be set.”

“Great,” comes the deadpan voice.

“Dismissed.”

Levi salutes with only a minimal roll of his eyes.

“And Levi?”

“What now?”

“Thank you.”

* * *

 

Their interactions continue to be formal—or as formal as they can be with Levi’s vocabulary—and it’s not until the fitting that they have a chance to speak at length again.

“It looks nice on you.”

“Tch.”

“Make sure to hang it up so it won’t get wrinkled.”

“I know.”

“Maybe we should get you a tie—”

“What are you now, my fucking owner?”

“Sorry. So how’s training going?”

“I thought the court monitor was still sending you weekly reports.”

“He is, but I don’t read them.”

Levi finally looks at him. Really looks at him, scanning his face for any hint of a lie. But there is none; Erwin has been stoutly ignoring the court reports, knowing the monitor’s grudge against Levi would manifest itself in exaggerated or outright invented misdemeanors. (He’s gotten regular reports from Mike, but Levi doesn’t need to know that.)

“Training’s fine.”

* * *

 

Sunday finally rolls around. Erwin has splurged a bit on a carriage, but it’s not as if they can ride horses in their current attire. At that moment, Levi strolls into his line of vision, looking ridiculous in a pressed black suit and 3DMG.

“You can’t be serious.”

“What?”

“You can’t show up with your maneuver gear, Levi.”

“Well it’s gonna be pretty fucking hard to do my job then.”

“Your job?”

“Bodyguard, or whatever you call it.”

There’s a brief silence that almost makes Erwin want to squirm. He wants to tell Levi that he asked him purely for his company, not his fighting skills, but even in his head it sounds stupid.

“No 3DMG. No one else will have it, either. You’ll do fine with the knives you’ve got on you.”

Levi grumbles a bit but turns around to store his gear. In the carriage. Because of course. Normally, his prickly paranoia would irk Erwin, but today it warms him a bit to know how seriously Levi is taking his job, when a year ago he likely would’ve joined any potential assassins himself.

They start off. There’s a tense silence for an hour or so; then Levi gets bored. He’s not used to inactivity, it sets him on edge.

“So how many of these things have you been to?”

“I’m not entirely sure, to be honest. A friend of my mother’s would hold weekly balls when I was little. And then there were debutante balls. But I haven’t been back home since I joined the military.”

“I thought Commanders got paid leave.”

“We do.”

Levi drops the subject, tactful in his own way.

* * *

 

As the guest of honor, Erwin has timed his arrival to be the last one. His is the final entrance the crowd will see tonight, making the impression a lasting one. Moreover, half these people only know him by reputation, and it's not exactly a good one. He needs to look strong, capable, courteous...he needs Levi to stop muttering obscenities he thinks Erwin can’t hear.

“Commander Erwin Smith and…Cadet Levi.”

To the butler’s credit, the pause was barely noticeable, and they enter to widespread, if exaggeratedly polite, applause. Lady Dupont, resplendent in a gown of draped purple silk, walks forward with her hand outstretched. With her is their host, Lady Aurelia McManough, red curls stacked messily but charmingly atop her head. Erwin kisses their hands, while Levi opts for a precise military salute and a bow.

“It’s nice to see you again, Erwin. Your parents weren’t able to make it, but I’m to pass on a message from Morgana that she expects you for brunch tomorrow. You don’t visit nearly often enough; it’s not good to make your mother worry like that.” Aurelia finishes with an indignant frown on her face.

Erwin manages to paint on a warm smile, which appeases her. Then she turns to Levi and Erwin begins mentally counting the ways this could rapidly devolve.

“Levi. I’ve heard a lot about you. Top of your class, aren’t you? And training with veterans by special permission of the courts!”

That she would know such a thing comes as a shock to them both. Lady Dupont must sense it, somehow, even though their faces give nothing away, because she launches into an explanation.

“Oh, Celia’s boy is in his first year. Wants to join the military police. You should’ve _seen_ him when he came on leave last week! Already so strong. But he says you’re the one to beat if he wants to be number one,” she winks at Levi as if he were a favorite nephew.

“Tch. Dunno why he bothers. I’m joining the Scouting Legion, not the MP.”

“Really? But they’ve got such an awfully high fatality rate!”

It’s not Lady Dupont who speaks with such tactlessness. A red-headed girl in pastel pink lace, who can’t be more than sixteen or so, has suddenly appeared at her elbow, blue eyes wide with worry and locked on Levi.

“Allow me to present Irene McManough. Aurelia’s neice. You’ll forgive her outspokenness, she’s a wild little thing,” Lady Dupont chuckles good-naturedly. “Irene my dear, let him be. It’s his choice.”

“No. It’s something I have to do.” Levi corrects her.

A murmur of appreciation ripples through the crowd and Erwin becomes acutely aware that half the crowd has been eavesdropping, not merely a few dozen like he’d presumed. And all of them have apparently taken Levi’s acerbic retort as a heroic declaration. Irene is blushing now, looking up through her eyelashes at Levi, although this is made somewhat difficult seeing as how she’s at least a head taller.

Erwin feels relieved when Lady Dupont begins to steer them toward the dining room.

* * *

 

Dinner doesn’t go much better. During the first course, it’s Erwin who’s bombarded with questions, but then Levi twirls his knife with a bit more flourish than strictly necessary, and all eyes snap to him. He freezes for a second, eyes going to Erwin as if asking what he’s done wrong, but he covers it by taking a sip of water.

Irene’s giggle carries throughout the room, as she tries to mimic his way of holding the cup. Then Lady Marcelle’s daughter tries it, followed by Lady Marcelle. And it’s as if a dam has broken; suddenly Levi is being asked about everything from his haircut to how he takes his tea. He ignores it all, focusing solely on his plate, and Erwin sees  Lady McManough raise her eyebrows a few seats down. He can feel the fruits of his careful diplomacy crumbling before him, until he catches Lady Lanusse’s giddy whisper to her friend.

“Strong _and_ silent, huh Tasbee?”

He’s not sure if this is better or worse.

* * *

 

After dinner, the older men move into the smoking room to talk business, and Erwin is obliged to join them. He tells Levi so, and the man takes on an almost wounded expression.

“You’re leaving me with these weirdoes?”

“I don’t have a choice, it’s something I have to do.”

Levi bristles as his earlier words are thrown back at him, cheeks flushing in a way all the attention at dinner hadn’t been able to do, and Erwin is seized by the irrational impulse to push his buttons further.

“Irene!” he calls out. He doesn’t have to raise his voice. The girl is only a few feet away, doing a terrible job of pretending to listen to Count Szeiwy’s explanation of chandelier manufacturing. Her eyes were already on him and Levi, and now her head turns as well. Her smile is radiant as she approaches them.

“I’m sorry to trouble you, but this is Levi’s first formal function. I must unfortunately forego tonight’s opening dance, but I would feel better leaving him with a friend. He’d be honored, I assure you. Would you mind?”

“O—oh, of course not! The honor is all mine, sir!” she practically levitates off the ground and takes Levi’s hand, steering him towards the dance floor. Levi’s eyes promise a painful evisceration later, but for now, Erwin chuckles and turns to follow Lord Dupont.

* * *

 

Their business talks are mercifully brief. Erwin falls back into his gentleman persona and is soon drawing vigorous nods and commiserating smiles. A horse merchant tells Erwin that he’s willing to enter into contracts with the Legion providing mounts at a fixed rate for a year, regardless of future inflation. The owner of a string of bakeries offers to sell him grain in bulk, at a discounted price. A few other men simply write him checks. It’s not nearly enough, but it’s more than the Legion’s gotten in decades. Erwin considers it a good starting point.

“Well gentlemen, that’s that.” Lord Dupont flicks cigar ash off his velvet waistcoat. “Shall we rejoin the others? The ladies must be terribly lonely.”

* * *

 

The ladies, as it turns out, are lonely, but only because Levi has not danced with anyone but Irene all this time. They’ve formed a circle around the pair, ignoring the young men leaning forlornly against the wall. Levi’s got that blank look that he usually reserves for when his instructors make him learn penmanship—quietly seething, but not enough to be called out on insubordination. For her part, Irene looks thrilled, not only at the jealous glares she’s receiving, but also at Levi’s hand on her waist.

The minute he spots Erwin, Levi twirls his partner into a dip (to much applause) and hands her over to Lady Dupont. Irene’s cheeks are glowing, and she is quickly pulled into the crowd of twittering women, intent on grilling her for any and all information.

“I need to take the biggest shit.”

“Just ask any of the staff to direct you to a restroom. Use my words, not yours.”

Levi nods and makes a beeline for the nearest butler. Erwin watches him go.

* * *

 

His respite is short-lived. With Levi gone, the women focus on him. At first it’s small talk, which he’s always been good at, but as the musicians strike up a slow song, he knows he’s expected to ask one of them for a dance. After a brief debate, he chooses Tasbee Mellin. She’s a known gossip, but not a malicious one. It’s a surefire way to guarantee his name will linger even after he leaves. She blushes prettily when he asks her, and gracefully accepts. Once the song ends, he releases her.

Levi chooses that moment to reappear, and Erwin wonders, for one insane second, what it would be like to pull him onto the dance floor. But Irene is there first, which is surprisingly irritating. As the musicians are taking a break, the two move towards him. Or rather, Levi stalks toward him with murder in his eyes and Irene follows, looping her arm through his. Lord McManough, meanwhile, begins telling Erwin about a recent attempt at unionization at one of his textile factories. He forces himself to pay attention, telling himself that this could hold political importance.

“Oh uncle, you’re going to bore everyone away with that story,” Irene giggles. The man laughs good-naturedly, but his eyes are darting suspiciously between her and Levi, and how she has not let go of his arm.

“You haven’t properly introduced this young man to me, Erwin,” he says pointedly.

“My mistake. Lord McManough, I present Cadet Levi. One of our most promising recruits.”

“I’m sure he is. I’ve heard quite a bit about him already.”

Erwin’s opens his mouth to redirect the conversation, but Lord McManough steamrollers over him, his gaze locked almost challengingly on Levi.

“Jonathan’s boy came back for the holidays with a broken hand. Said he’d gotten it during a spar with Levi here.”

“I don’t believe that,” Irene bursts out, her eyes wide and earnest, at the same time that Levi says simply “Yeah.”

Lord McManough flushes an angry puce, and his eyes seem to bug out. He opens his mouth to say something that will undoubtedly ruin the evening, so Erwin forces himself to laugh politely as he puts a hand on Levi’s shoulder. The shorter man stills, recognizing the warning for what it is.

“Levi was a bit too advanced for his training group. He’s been placed with Scouting Legion soldiers in training now. I’ve actually been talking with the MP about letting a few of the other top-ranked cadets train with them.” He’s been doing no such thing, but it piques McManough’s interest as well as that of some surrounding nobles.

“Really? That’s never been done, but a change of pace could work wonders for our military.”

“Just the top ten, or the top fifteen, what do you say? It could really work as a motivator, Smith.”

“What a wonderful idea! I know Commander Dawkes would just _love_ to nurture future leaders!”

Erwin has to bite back a smile when Levi snorts into his cup.

* * *

 

At the end of the night (literally: the sun is starting to rise), Erwin feels safe in declaring this entire operation a success. Levi had managed to control his temper, more often than not by using Irene as a buffer against particularly acidic questioners, and Erwin had charmed his way into the good graces of several major business owners. He feels it’s a solid foundation for the future.

It begins as the groom is bringing the carriage around for them. Behind him, he hears Irene asking Levi to stay for breakfast.

“Sorry.” Levi sounds completely not-sorry. “I have to be back for morning reveille.”

“Oh…” she seems to wilt. “When…um, when will I see you again?”

“Probably never, unless Erwin needs me at one of these things again.”

Erwin wants to facepalm. He’s irrationally proud when instead he manages to turn calmly and say his goodbyes, his hand subtly shoving Levi in the direction of the carriage. He takes the hint and leaves without a word.

* * *

 

The ride back is silent, both of them napping like the soldiers they are. They arrive back at base as the sun is fully out but the cold morning fog has yet to dissipate. Levi is quick to put away his 3DMG and head toward the bath house. He salutes at Erwin in lieu of a goodbye, but that’s nothing new.

Erwin stops by his office before anywhere else out of habit, and is surprised to see a good half-dozen messenger birds. He shrugs off his suit jacket and unscrolls the first message.

_“I have nothing against you, Smith. But Fernand is talking of joining the Scouting Legion thanks to your pet cadet, and you understand that I just can’t let that happen. Are we agreed?”_

Enclosed is a check that would easily cover supplies for another year’s worth of expeditions. For this, Erwin’s more than willing to declare Fernand medically unfit should he ever enlist.

_“While we all admire Levi’s dedication and bravery, he is not one of us. Irene seems infatuated and I would like to nip this in the bud…”_

It’s a plea from Lord McManough to keep Levi from pursuing his niece. Another check.

All in all, he has more funding than he could’ve hoped for, and an excuse to keep Levi from attending any more high-society events. He’s not sure why the second pleases him almost as much as the first, but it does.

Erwin reclines in his chair and listens to the world wake up. He’s sure Mike will be here soon, leveraging coffee over him in exchange for details, but for now, he’s content to listen to the faint rhythmic sounds of  boots on dirt as the cadets start their morning run in the courtyard. Levi’s somewhere out there, and though he can’t see him, the thought brings Erwin peace.

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So I meant to upload this way sooner, but my laptop wouldn't charge and I was freaking out and ordered a new battery only to realize that I had accidentally been using my brother's charger. So now I have two chargers and feel like an idiot.
> 
> Anyways: I toyed with the idea of having Levi just get into a fight in this chapter, because I'm apparently Michael Bay and want nothing but sword fights and booms. But I think that at this point, Levi's matured a little bit; learned to use his strength only when it's needed, and learned to respect Erwin's commands (more or less).
> 
> I also liked the idea of Levi unintentionally charming people, and I kept that here. I think that society, broadly speaking, loves the idea of the underdog and the strong-and-silent types with mysterious backgrounds. There's always a magnetism to such people, and you can't help but be awed a little bit.

**Author's Note:**

> So this is my first attempt at writing fic, and I'm a bit nervous, but I'm gonna stick with it and finish this story, if nothing else.


End file.
